Nothing is More Unique!

Over the past 40 years I have listened to literally thousands of college students’ presentations and hundreds of business people’s presentations. Although not a grammarian, I hear repeatedly in those speeches a glaring error—the misuse of unique. No one seems immune to this error, yet it is such a simple one to correct! Unique means “one of a kind.” Thus there cannot be “most unique” or “more unique.” If you use the word unique, there can only be one in existence. Each of us is unique. No one in the world is exactly like you or me. Yet I hear people say, “He is one of the most unique people I know.” Simply say, “He is unique.”

This word is usually in any list of misused words. Yet many who otherwise use the language well fail by saying, “The dessert was veryunique.” The tiramisu was either unique or it wasn’t. The word unique stands alone.